


Guardian Angel

by Graysongirl



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Genre: Angel Dust Needs a Hug (Hazbin Hotel), Angel Dust's Name is Anthony (Hazbin Hotel), Angel is trapped, Canonical Character Death, Dentists, Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, Drug Use, Eventual Smut, Food Kink, Gaslighting, Hurt Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Nantaimori, Photography, Poor Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Rape/Non-con Elements, Sex Worker Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Slow Burn, Valentino Being a Jerk (Hazbin Hotel), Vox Being a Jerk (Hazbin Hotel), vox likes alastor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:15:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26051722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Graysongirl/pseuds/Graysongirl
Summary: Anthony overdoses and wakes up in Hell, luckily his guardian angel is there to look after him but can you really find an angel in Hell?A slow burn, gaslighting fic between Valentino and the newly dead Anthony/Angel Dust. Expect all the angsty manipulation!
Relationships: Angel Dust/Valentino (Hazbin Hotel), Valentino/Vox (Hazbin Hotel)
Comments: 86
Kudos: 103





	1. It slides in so easily

**Author's Note:**

> My take on how Angel met Val and how their relationship started. I wanted to explore the idea that Val suckered him in to a relationship before letting him fall into sex work without him realising. This is my first Hazbin fic and is part of the Valangel week 2 set of prompts. I may not do all of them but I have ideas so subscribe to see more! Prompt: First meetings.

It had slipped in so easily, a sharp scratch, barely anything to him now, and then that wonderful rush of ecstasy that just washed all the pain away. He’d never intended it to become a habit, to become addicted to the shit he was supposed to be selling not getting high on. At first it had just been a little dab at the start of the evening, a quick sniff to smooth out the edges and relax him. Tenseness went with the territory in his family’s line of work and sometimes you just needed that extra kick to help you get in there and get going. Then, the edges started to get rougher, probably about the same time that his older brother started to get rougher now he thought about it. That didn’t matter though, he just took a little bit more of his guardian angel every night and it all smoothed itself back out. He found out that injecting it made it work faster, and that it was supposedly better for him that way because he wasn’t rotting away the inside of his nose snorting it constantly. If he collapsed a vein who cared? He had plenty more where that came from. 

The needle tumbled out of his hand, clattering onto the hard board floor and rolling somewhere under the bed to join the countless others that had started to stack up over the last few weeks. Months? He couldn’t remember anymore. As he started to relax the belt on his arm slipped down, bright pink rings circling his upper arm from previous attempts to get a good squeeze going. Sometimes finding a vein was tricky, it was getting harder to see straight these days. 

Haha… see straight, that was a good one. He hadn’t been seeing straight since he danced out of the womb thirty years ago. 

He ran his fingers through the dark curls of his hair, a lazy grin on his face. That was it, that was what he needed right now. The shouting, the screaming, the cursing, it all just melted away. He closed his eyes and let the sensation wash over him, seeing red dancing in the corners of his eyes as his painted lids fluttered shut. Sleep would be good now, just float away and let the angel dreams take over for the night. 

He just…  
….needed….  
To…  
….sleep……

“Wakey wakey, Anthony,” 

Anthony waved his arm sleepily over his face, why was his dad always grinding on him to get up and do stuff? It was the middle of the night, he just wanted to sleep dammit. Rolling over he felt rough ground against his cheek and moaned, raking his fingers along the gravel and blinking in confusion.

“W-What time is it?” He mumbled, his voice feeling thick and groggy. That had been one hell of a trip, his throat felt like sandpaper and his eyes didn’t seem to be adjusting very well. Everything around him looked like it was covered in a red haze of smoke. 

“Just after midnight,” came the reply, a voice Anthony didn’t recognise. “You’ve been out like a light since you got here, angel face.” 

“Got… Here?” He sat himself up, brushing his hair from his eyes and staring in confusion at his hands. They looked like they were covered in… fur? His nails seemed to have grown too, sharp and still tipped with the shocking pink nail lacquer he had stolen from Molly the night before. “What’s going on?” The weirdness just kept on coming as when he managed to bring himself shakily up to standing he felt something brush against his thigh. Looking down he saw what appeared to be a second pair of arms ruptured out of his sides, slender and fur covered with the same chipped pink lacquer on the nails, only he definitely didn’t remember painting these ones. “I… this is-“ 

“One heck of a bad trip, right?” Anthony looked at the source of the voice, recoiling in shock at what he could only describe as some kind of human moth creature standing in front of him. The red smoke he had seen above him when he woke up seemed to be curling around him as he spoke, dancing around his body and petering off into hearts and swirls. They crept along the pavement and Anthony felt them snaking up his legs. He shivered at the touch until he felt his body suddenly relax. His legs went from under him and he felt himself fall into the creature’s arms. “Steady there, wouldn’t want to hurt that pretty face of yours.” 

Anthony flexed his fingers, the ones on the arms he was used to, against the fabric of the man’s coat. “You’re real!” He blurted out. He’d had hallucinations before from the PCP, some so real that he’d have sworn on the bible that he could have touched them if only he could get close enough, but they always changed just as he got near to them, twisting and morphing into something else before he had the chance. But this, well, he sure didn’t have the imagination to hallucinate something like this. “Where am I?” 

“Hell.” The creature said it so simply, so matter of fact, as if he was just commenting on the weather they were having. He straightened himself up and moved Anthony away from him, looking him up and down with a type of hunger Anthony wasn’t sure he’d ever seen in someone before. He felt himself instinctively step back, the red vapour that was still trying to coil around him stopping him in his tracks. 

“Don’t be scared, Angel,” The creature smiled. “I just want to take care of you.” The smoke began to fade away, retreating back to wherever it came from and Anthony felt himself cautiously relax once more. He wanted to run, but something made him stay. The man in front of him oozed some kind of freaky control and Anthony found himself wanting to cling to him. He flinched as he heard what sounding like a howling scream in the distance, followed by some kind of static sounding laughter and hugged his arms around himself.

Hell? This didn’t make any sense. 

“It doesn’t make sense, no.” 

“Are you reading my mind?” Anthony startled, staring wide eyed at what he was now starting to comprehend was some kind of demon. 

“No, sweet thing, it’s written all over your face,” the demon laughed. “Everyone who comes here thinks it doesn’t make sense, that there must be some kind of mistake, but Hell doesn’t make no mistakes. You’re reacting a lot calmer than most, a lot are screaming by now.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t get far in life by screaming at shit,” Anthony shrugged, earning a barking laugh from the demon. A sense of realization was starting to creep in through the eerie calm that was still coursing through his body. He shouldn’t be surprised about this, priests and his own family had been telling him he was going to Hell since he could talk so there’d always been a strange type of resignation in his mind about life after death, a good old catholic acceptance of his sins drilled into him every Sunday. 

“Not very far, no,” The demon lit some kind of cigarette that seemed to have appeared from nowhere and took a long drag. “Stick with me kiddo and I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

Anthony frowned. This seemed very different from the fire and brimstone of Hell that he’d been lectured on in church, and the new body was still a bit of a shocker too. This weird guy didn’t seem like a whip wielding torturer ready to flay his flesh from his bones in an eternal pit of damnation he seemed… normal. Friendly, even. With very little choice on what else he was supposed to do he shrugged and held out his hand, seeing a flash of gold glint in the demon’s smile as he took it and shook. 

“Being taken care of sounds like a sweet deal,” he grinned. “What’s your name, pal?”

“Just call me Valentino. Think of me as your guardian angel, baby.” 

o0o

“You’ve got such a great body, you know.”

“Hm?” Anthony rolled over on the big, plush bed and grinned at the man next to him, tracing his fingers lazily over his face. It had been a weird couple of weeks, but this Valentino guy had been true to his word, just like he’d said he’d taken care of him and no one seemed to dare mess with him. Valentino had explained he was what they called an Overlord in Hell, and that meant he commanded a certain level of respect from the denizens of Pentagram City. Anthony didn’t really care about all the politics of it, all he cared about what that if he had a guy like Val on his side he was pretty well set up. He’d seen these weird little creatures around the city who seemed constantly terrified, and other freaky demons who had a permanent look of fear on their face. He didn’t want that, he quite liked the cushy gig he had here thank you very much, a big comfy bed, loads of great food, as many clothes as he could wish for and a hot guy who seemed to worship him. Who knew Hell could be so great?

“Your body,” Valentino flipped him so he was on his back, straddling him and looking down on him with that hungry look that made Anthony purr in delight. “Most people get all freaked out about the changes, but you… you really owned it.” 

“What can I say? The extra hands come in handy,” Anthony grinned, flexing his fingers and trailing them down Val’s chest until he got to his target. They always slept naked together, it made things so much easier when they inevitably got down to it at several points in the night and the following mornings. “I’m hot stuff here, aint just a lanky boy toy no more.”

“I’d love to take photos of you,” Val felt Anthony tense beneath him and quickly swooped down to kiss him, stroking his hair and letting the vapour that always seemed to hang around him wash over the creature beneath him. “Just for us, baby… You’re so beautiful.” He let his lips glide down the fur of his chest, breathing in his scent and squeezing at his hips, grinding him up against him until he started to melt in his grip. “Something to keep with me to remember you whilst I’m working.” 

Work, yeah. That was a thing. Valentino worked for some kind of porn industry in Hell, Anthony had discovered. Apparently sex really sold down here and lust demons ran the show. He’d gone with him one night and had his world completely flipped upside down by the sights there. Sure he’d been to snuff shows as a human, and a discrete little gentleman’s club that didn’t allow women, but seeing it in Hell was a whole new deal. All those limbs and scales… and teeth. He’d been morbidly curious about it all, but Val had quickly whisked him back to the apartment he rented for him, telling him he didn’t need to get involved in all that stuff, that he was too good to hang around them joints and that he was sorry he had to see it. Anthony had cautiously agreed and now every time Val needed to do business he’d obediently stayed in the apartment. 

“Just for us?” He asked, watching as a camera materialised in Val’s hands. “Promise?”

“On my grave, angel cakes” Val grinned, holding the camera up and toying with the lens to focus it. Anthony giggled self-consciously and propped himself up on the bed, looking into the camera with what he hoped was a come-to-bed expression. “Excellent, that’s it baby.” 

The camera flashed and Anthony covered his face after. “Urgh, no, I bet I look terrible.” He waved his hand at Val to make him move the camera and bit his lip. Val just chuckled and waved the sheet that had come from the camera, waiting for it to develop. When the black faded he held the photo up and hummed in appreciation, turning it to show the young demon sitting with his hands over his eyes. 

“Well would you look at that, my little cam boy,” He grinned, taking Anthony’s arm gently and encouraging him to look at the photo. Anthony cautiously moved his hands and gaped at the photo. Damn, he did look good. The light was bouncing off his fur, making it look like it was shimmering with glitter and his eyes looked dark and sultry, the strange mixture of pink and black popping against the paleness of his fur. 

“Wow… yeah.” 

“Wanna do some more?” Anthony nodded eagerly, already kneeling up with his hands behind his head, more daring this time and sticking his tongue out flirtily. 

“Perfect! Keep it coming, doll!” Val encouraged him, clicking the camera until they had a pile of photos laid out on the bed in front of them. When they were done Anthony fell back on the bed, excitedly looking at all the photos, cooing excitedly over ones he liked until Val eased himself up off the bed. 

“I just gotta make some calls, babe,” he told him, kissing his forehead. “Be back soon.” 

“Sure, Val,” Anthony grinned, still enthralled by the pictures. It had been fun, just something silly with his… his boyfriend? Was that what Val was? The thought made him grin stupidly and he hugged himself with all four arms. He hadn’t felt this happy in years. 

o0o

Out in the corridor Val flicked open his hellphone and hit a number on speed dial. 

“Hey Voxxy, babe, it’s me… yeah, I miss you too… listen, I got some pics to send over, can you get them up on the server in the next hour?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1 kudos = 1 hug for an innocent Angel Dust!  
> Please leave reviews if you enjoyed it and book mark to see more as I try my hand at this Hazbin fic world! I'm more of a RadioDust shipper but Valangel/Valdust intrigues me


	2. Business as usual

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anthony begs his boyfriend to let him see what the business is really like and has quite a bit of fun with two new friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well people seemed to like the first part so here we are! Chapter 2. The prompt for this one is "business" so naturally we had to go to the club for some fun.  
> Update 05/09/2020 this chapter inspired some fanart by the AMAZING Merella, which was honestly such wonderful praise that I teared up. Give her dA a follow. https://www.deviantart.com/obscurefanartist/art/Don-t-Be-Shy-854276572

Fur, Anthony was discovering, took a lot of maintenance. Luckily for him he had a gorgeous moth demon at his beck and call who was more than willing to help him lather up all the plush fur that now covered his body with all manner of soaps and oils to keep it looking lustrous. Usually these escapades meant he needed another bath again soon after, but who cared? He had all the time in the world to enjoy the pampering. Hell, it seemed, wasn’t big on responsibility. Val seemed to have endless supplies of money that Anthony didn’t question and the demon seemed to be more than happy to spend all of it on treating him. He stretched his arms out above his head, grinning as Valentino rubbed something pink and foamy into the thick fur on his chest, making it poof up almost like breasts. He ran the fingers of his lower hands through it and brought them up to his nose to sniff. 

“Mm, cherry!” he smiled, pulling Val up for a kiss and nuzzling against him. “My favourite.” 

“Only the best for you, doll,” Val smiled, screwing the lid back onto the bottle and placing it on the dresser next to the bed. His angel looked ravishing, all spread out on the bed in all his naked, furry glory. He could easily get distracted by such a wonderful body just ready and waiting for him, all his to do what he wanted with. Some sinners took to Hell like a duck to water and Anthony was no exception. The man had been so repressed in life, held back by narrow minded family and a society that just didn’t understand his type of people, that in Hell he had absolutely blossomed. He’d questioned how much experience he’d had topside and the man had just smiled that coy little smile of his, telling him it was none of his business and then proceeded to spend the next two hours demonstrating instead of telling. That was how they’d ended up needing the first bath. It had all proceeded from there really. Now they were both exhausted and basking in the afterglow together, the unspoken third round lingering in the air between them as Anthony ‘innocently’ started to push against him once more. 

“You’re insatiable,” Val smirked, bopping him on the tip of his nose with his finger and earning a sweet little pout from the lustful sinner. “But who am I to refuse?” 

He meant it too, he couldn’t get enough of him when he was given the opportunity. It was like a drug, something oozing off him that seemed to make heads turn and blood rush to all the right places. If it wasn’t for the club he’d find it hard to leave some nights. It was all working out so divinely. 

“Is that your phone?” Anthony asked, cutting their groping short at the sound of a familiar jingle coming from the dresser. 

“Yeah, shit. Sorry, angel cake, I gotta take this.” 

“That’s ok, but be quick,” Anthony purred, propping himself up on the pillow and keeping his legs nice and wide just in case Val needed further confirmation of what he was missing by answering the phone at such an inopportune time. The phone call didn’t seem to be ending anytime soon, much to his annoyance, and after a while he got up to get a magazine from the lounge to occupy himself with whilst he waited. He lazily flicked through the pages, making mental notes of cute outfits to ask Val for when they next went shopping. He’d been surprised that shopping was such a big thing in Hell, there was a huge mall in the centre of Pentagram City which, according to Val, was jointly owned by the Overlords of Greed and Gluttony. Fast food and fast fashion all in one place, a dream for those with poor impulse control and a bottomless appetite for spending. Anthony had discovered iced coffee was the next best thing after orgasms and spent far more of Val’s money in Scarbucks than he cared to admit. Coffee. With ice! They hadn’t had that on earth when he’d been alive. It was way too hot down here for real coffee anyway and the Italian part of him still needed a healthy caffeine fix to keep him going on a morning. 

“Hey, baby doll, I gotta go into the club,” Val told him, pulling him out of his retail fantasies with a ruffle of his hair. “You settle up here, order food or something, the card is on the dresser.” 

“Can’t I come with you?” Anthony asked, closing the magazine and hitting him with the puppy dog eyes, all wide eyed and pleading. He got so bored here on his own when Val went to the club plus a small part of him wanted to see it again. 

“I don’t know,” Val sighed, making a show of thinking about it. “It’s not the sort of place a sweet boy like you should be.” 

“Pleeeease?” Anthony pleaded, crawling towards him and sitting on his lap so that he could snuggle up to his chest, wrapping all his arms around him to hold him close. He gently kissed at his neck, working his way up until he could nip at that sensitive spot on his ear. “I promise I’ll be good.” 

“Ok then,” Val said after a moment’s thought, giving him a quick pat on the ass to signal he should get up. “Go get dressed.” 

“Thank you, Daddy!” Anthony trilled, kissing him on the cheek and happily bouncing off to hunt for clothes. This was going to be so much fun, he told himself as he dug through the wardrobe, much better than sitting in the apartment waiting all night watching trash on Voxflix. 

o0o 

“Is that what you’re wearing?” 

“Yeah, you don’t like it?” Anthony twirled around, the tight jeans hugging his legs in all the right ways and the tiny pink crop top flashing his stomach. He’d thought it was nice, dressy but sexy at the same time. He’d chosen a cute pair of flats to match the top as well with little hearts on that matched the trim on the coat Val seemed to always wear when he went to the club. He liked the idea of casually showing off that he was with him, almost like matching. 

“It’s lovely, sweetheart,” Val reassured him. “If you like it that’s all that matters.” 

“You hate it,” Anthony said uncertainly, looking himself up and down in the mirror. Maybe the jeans had been a bad idea? Now he looked closer at them they did make his hips look a little boxy, and the flats looked a bit cheap as well against the more expensive stuff Val seemed to be wearing. He rubbed his arms self consciously and looked to his boyfriend for advice. “What do you think?”

“I think you should wear those nice short I got you last week,” Val told him. “They show off your ass really nice. Those black heels as well would look good, perhaps some make up too. Your eyes are looking a bit muted.” 

“Thanks, honey!” Anthony breathed a sigh of relief, glad to have someone tell him what looked good. He took off the jeans and threw them into the back of the wardrobe in disgust. To think he’d thought they looked sexy! He took out the shorts Val had mentioned and put them on, tight black pvc with a low cut waist that looked like they’d been spray painted on. He twirled around again to admire himself from all angles and smirked proudly. Perfect. That was how he should be dressed for the club, Val was right. He topped it off with the stiletto heels as well, black against the white of his fur with little silver chains criss-crossing his ankles. The new rush of height had been another surprise when he’d woken up in Hell and the heels only added to it now. Valentino give him a once over with his eyes and nodded in approval. 

“Here, I got you another present yesterday,” he told him, motioning for him to turn around. “Close your eyes.” Anthony complied, a small smile on his face as Val looped something over his head and fastened it around his neck. His hand went up and he touched the soft velvet of a choker necklace. There was a small pendant hanging from it so he went to the mirror for a closer look. It was a twisted outline of a heart in bright red. He ran his fingers over it happily, it clashed with his top but he didn’t care, it was perfect. 

“Thank you so much, Val, I-“ he broke off, his fur tinging pink on his cheeks. “I really like it.” 

“I thought you would. Come on, the car’s waiting.” 

o0o

Anthony always felt fancy in Val’s limo. Traffic just parted for it as he came down the street and it made him feel like royalty, which he supposed on the arm of an Overlord he kind of was. There was also a seemingly endless supply of booze in it which was always a huge perk. He sipped champagne on Val’s knee from a crystal flute as they were driven into the city centre to the club, feeling giddy and excited with each sip. 

When they arrived Val handed his coat to the doorman, taking the fur stole Anthony had put on as an extra layer as well like a proper gentleman. He sat at one of the tables and soon enough a demon came over to talk to him with drinks. Anthony sat sipping a pink cocktail, half listening to the conversation, half watching the dancers on stage. It was early yet so the club wasn’t too full, but even so a few punters were lining the tip rail at the stage watching the dancers. 

“You can go watch if you want,” Val said passively to Anthony, barely glancing at him as he looked over some paperwork the demon had handed him. “You don’t need to sit here bored, Dia and Summer will see you right.” He pointed to two cat-like demonesses on the stage with his free hand and patted Anthony’s arm as he got up. 

Anthony downed the rest of his drink and went over to the rail, standing slightly back so he could watch the girls dance, entranced by the effortless way they seemed to spin around their poles, moving like it was an extension of their body. Dia, the more cat like one of the two, waved to him when he came over hopping down off the pole much to the upset of the few men watching and coming to give him a hug. 

“Hey, spider boy!” She greeted him with a throaty purr, releasing him from the hug. “Me and Summer thought we’d scared you off last time.” 

“Course not, kitty cat, it takes a lot more than that to scare me,” Anthony laughed, giving the horned demoness, Summer, a similarly tight hug when she came over to join them. The two girls had seemed friendly enough the other time he’d been here, they’d gotten him a drink whilst Val had been busy and kept him company so that he hadn’t felt so awkward on his own whilst all the business went on, whatever that was. 

“We asked Val to bring you back to see us,” Summer told him, perching on the edge of the stage and swinging her long legs in time to the music. “Dia here thought it would be super fun if you had a dance with us.” 

“You would look killer on a pole,” Dia agreed enthusiastically, she leaned forward and whispered in his ear so only he could hear. “Plus I’m sure Val would enjoy that much more than the boring old paper work he’s doing right now.” 

“Do you think so?” Anthony asked, glancing over at his boyfriend who, he had to admit, did look pretty bored talking to the other demon. He caught his eye and blew him a kiss, causing the colour to rise on Anthony’s cheeks again. He stroked the heart pendant on his necklace, he had said thank you but he felt like he could really show how grateful he was in a different way. “Let’s do it! Show me!”

Dia clapped excitedly and took his hand, pulling him up onto the stage with surprising strength for someone so slight. She guided him to put his hands on the pole and cheered him on to try spinning round. It was sloppy, and he found himself laughing nervously when he slid down and had to use his second set of arms to catch himself. 

“Don’t be shy,” Summer cooed, standing behind him with her hands on her hips, earning a whistle from someone in the crowd as she pushed her body against him to show him where to positon on the pole. “The trick is skin,” she purred. “Good choice with this cute little top and shorts, let your body grip the pole for you. Don’t think, just let yourself fly.” 

Anthony hooked his ankle around the base of the pole, trying to copy how he’d seen the girls do it and tried to spin again, gaining more success this time and daringly shimmying a little higher. The champagne from the car coupled with whatever that pink cocktail had been were giving him confidence. He gripped with one arm and let the rest of his body drop back, arching his back and letting the crop top ride up just a tiny amount, exposing more of his stomach and the tip of the pink markings that outlined his chest. He stroked one hand up the fur and let his finger trail suggestively up to his mouth, winking at Val from across the room. The man let out a slow smile and pushed the paper towards the demon opposite, signing something before abandoning him to move closer. He didn’t leer at the tip rail like the other demons, instead choosing to hang back to take in the full picture. 

“Go on,” he mouthed to Anthony, letting his approval show with a long, lingering look over his body as the newly fallen demon experimented more. To both of their delight some of the demons started to push notes his way, hollering when he leant back to take them in his teeth or accept them in the waist of his shorts. He was a natural, Val mused. 

“Good work, girls,” He whispered to Dia and Summer when they sashayed over to join him, one perching on his lap and the other draping herself over him. A handful of notes found their way into their back pockets and later on they’d find gift certificates to one of the most exclusive spas in Hell in their dressing rooms. “Looks like I just found our new star.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I confess I couldn't find out which one was Dia and which one was Summer! Everything online just paired them up with no real clarification. If anyone knows if I'm right or wrong assuming Dia is the horned one and Summer is the cat please let me know. I also don't mind people pointing out any grammar/spelling they notice- every little helps. The next prompt will be "forgiveness"  
> Update 05/09/2020: Chapter updated after Merella linked me to confirmation of which was Dia and which was Summer


	3. Image matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's prompt was "forgiveness" but who's really the one who should be apologising?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Merella last chapter for helping with which demon girl was which, I will go in and edit and next time if/when we see them they will be named right. This chapter contains a little bit of smut at the end, but it's only subtle so nothing to scare anyone away I hope. I will always warn at the start if anything is potentially going to be more detailed (later chapters may contain it).

From what Anthony could gather there seemed to be an all manner of things that could wind you up in Hell. There were the obvious ones like murder or assault, but then there seemed to be people that had wound up here because every little bad thing they did seemed to have just stacked up over time and eventually outweighed the good. As he stirred the straw around his Frappuccino he wondered what on earth someone had to have done in life to condemn them to an afterlife of working in retail. 

The mall was slowly becoming one of his favourite places, not just because of the endless promenades of stores full of clothes and trinkets, but for the people watching. Demons here came in all shapes and sizes, and even ages. Valentino had tried to explain about demons who had been born in Hell rather than sent here as sinners, and to tell him about the royal family and all the extensions of it ruling the different cities that made up the various circles. Anthony hadn’t really cared much for the details like who was in charge of who and who had married who for powers. He was more interested in what kind of dicks the weird snake demons he was watching share a latte had. 

He slurped the iced drink noisily, savouring the taste and humming happily to himself. He had two bags full of clothes to take home and show Val once he was finished and was very excited to model them all. After much cajoling and outright begging the moth demon had finally agreed to let him learn how to properly dance on a pole with Dia and Summer. It had been so much fun showing off like that and the tips from the small crowd that had been watching weren’t too shabby. In fact, for the first time he’d actually had some of his own money to spend instead of Val’s. It was a nice little feeling of independence and handing over the money he’d earned to the cashier had been a great rush. The bags were full of new pairs of shorts and hot pants, skinny little crop tops and corsets. Dia had explained skimpy clothes were best for dancing in, and that showing off all that extra skin always got more money. Val seemed to really like them too.

Sucking up the last of the coffee through the straw he dumped the cup in the trash can on the way past, he might be in Hell but he had still been raised right. He hitched his bags up onto his arm and carded his fingers through his hair. Where to next? He’d exhausted all the clothes shops, and wanted to wait until he’d practiced a bit more in the shoes he had before he bought anymore heels so that just left make up. 

That had always been a bit of a secret thrill back on earth, a guilty pleasure that he indulged when the rest of the family was out. His brother would have beaten him blue if he’d caught him going through their sister’s make up bag when no one else was home, so he’d stolen moments when he was alone to borrow small things to try. A lipstick here, an eyeshadow there. The prospect of owning his own make up and getting to wear it without judgement was dizzying. He gazed lustfully at all the pretty colours in the window of the store, pinks and purples mixed with glitter or dark reds and blacks shimmering with smokey seduction. He couldn’t choose so he bought both, telling himself he’d have earnt the money back soon enough. 

He was carefully stowing the make up palates in one of his bags when he heard the first jeers behind him. 

“Hey, sugar tits, wanna stick your finger in my mouth?”

With a frown forming on his face he turned to the sound of the cat calling, his gaze landing on what he assumed was Hell’s version of frat boys. A green skinned teen with hair that looked like it was slicked back with too much gel cackled with laughter. 

“Show us what your other arms can do, slut!”

“Sev! Ssh, people are staring!” A pretty blonde girl with rosy cheeks tugged on the boy’s arm, looking embarrassed for both of them but getting nowhere in making any of the boy’s quiet down. 

“We’re just havin’ fun Charlz, lighten up,” he slung his arm around her, gaze level with Anthony, daring him to say something. 

Anthony had never been one to pass up a challenge and puffed his chest out defiantly, one hand loosely on his hip. “It’s ok, toots, your boyfriend here probably aint got a clue what to do with his own hands so needs a real man to show him how. Later, fish breath.” He turned on his heel, smirking to himself as the jeers turned away from him and onto the supposed ring leader of the silly little gang of hell schoolers. Once he was round the corner he took a deep breath and steadied himself. 

“It’s just a bunch of losers,” he told himself, clutching the bag tightly. One of his free hands drifted up to his neck where the choker Val gave him had been ever since he put it on for him, tracing over the heart. He felt himself relax a little and smiled softly. Who cared what a bunch of stupid kids thought? He was never going to see those jerks again so what did it matter? He needed a smoke to steady his nerves so he made his way over to one of the many, many stores that catered to such a need and made his way to the counter. On earth buying drugs had been a covert operation in the back of a bar or an alley, but down here it was as easy as walking into a shop and telling whatever demon was condemned to a life of public service what you wanted. 

Before the request had even left his mouth, however, the demon working there was interrupting him. 

“Oh my God can you sign my copy of Playdemon?” They asked. Their skin was marked with some sort of grim acne and they were breathing heavily, the branded shirt they were wearing straining against their bulging flesh with every breath. “You look so hot.” 

“Dude, I just want some PCP or something, leave me alone,” Anthony sighed. What was this weirdo even talking about? He held his hand out expectantly for a baggie or a roll up and hummed in annoyance when a magazine fell into his out stretched hand instead. “Seriously, weirdo, what the Hell is-“ His jaw fell when he looked down at the glossy spread in front of him. The pictures, the ones he’d taken with Val in their bedroom were displayed in all their glory with captions and close ups. He scrunched the magazine up in his hand, ignoring the protests from the sweating demon cashier that he needed to pay for that and stormed out of the store. 

His boyfriend was about to get the grilling of his life. 

o0o

“What in Lucifer’s name is this?” Anthony hurled the magazine at Val when he got into the apartment, dropping his shopping bags onto the floor alongside it for maximum effect. He glowered at the moth demon lounging on the sofa who looked far too calm for someone who’s just had a rolled up magazine launched at their head. 

“It’s called porn, I believe,” he said calmly. “Didn’t you have it on earth?” 

“I know what it is!” Anthony snapped, stamping his foot in anger and advancing on him, snatching the magazine out of his hands and opening it at the offending page. “Why am I in it? Val, those were private!” 

“Babe, come on, I thought you’d like it,” Val said smoothly, that irritating calm still oozing from his person, one arm draped over the back of the sofa as if they were just talking about the weather. “I thought they looked hot and I pulled a few strings with some buddies to get them printed so I could show off how gorgeous you were.” He reached out and coaxed Anthony towards him, enveloping him in all his arms and drawing him in close so that the magazine fell onto the sofa next to them, out of sight out of mind. “I did it for you, don’t you like it?” 

Anthony took a shaking breathe, leaning into his boyfriend despite his better judgement and breathing in that intoxicating scent that made Val just seem so damn reasonable all the time. He closed his eyes and let his head rest on his shoulder, humming gently. “I guess so…” he murmured, nuzzling into him. “I just… wish you’d asked.” 

“It was meant to be a surprise, babe,” Val told him, stroking his fingers along the small of his back in the exact place that always made his spider whine so sweetly. “I was going to show you tonight but you spoiled the surprise. I got a copy all ready to show you and everything.” 

“It was really going to be a surprise?” Anthony asked slowly, pulling back and studying Val’s face, looking for a trace of something, anything, to tell him otherwise. He knew the hard copies of those photos were in the drawer by his bed, he knew because he took them out practically every night to look at them. So how on earth had they managed to end up all over Hell? 

“Yes, I promise,” Val told him, giving him a quick kiss on the tip of his nose and causing him to blush sweetly and forget the question that had been forming on his lips. “Why would you ever think I’d do something like that otherwise? I would never hurt you, would I?”

“I… I guess not,” Anthony shook his head, reaching out for the magazine and studying the pictures. They did look sort of hot all arranged like that, he had to admit. The thought of lots of people looking at them but knowing they couldn’t have him was quite a nice thrill too, that he could show off all he wanted and tease everyone from the centre fold of a magazine. “I’m sorry I spoilt the surprise. It’s just there was this guy, in the mall, and-“ he broke off. “It doesn’t matter. I’m sorry Val. They look really great.”

“That’s ok, Angel cakes, I forgive you,” Val smiled benevolently. 

o0o

“I like my smile in that one,” Anthony pointed out, laying back and holding the magazine up so he could point to the one he meant. “It’s all pearly white, that’s my favourite.” 

“Your mouth is one of my favourite parts of you, that’s for sure,” Val agreed, rubbing his thumb over his bottom lip and grinning wickedly as the demon took the initiative to lazily start to suck, looking up at him with those sultry, mismatched eyes that drove him to distraction. He eased his hand away and guided him down lower, moaning appreciatively when Anthony took something a lot more interesting than his thumb into his mouth and started to work at it. 

“Maybe we could get you a bit of bling though?” He suggested, his breath hitching as he felt himself touch the back of the eager little demon’s throat. Said eager little demon made a questioning noise that sent vibrations down Val’s length, earning him a nice little tug on the back of his hair. “Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Val teased wickedly, almost purring at the glassy look in Anthony’s eyes at the little bit of dominance. This was almost too easy sometimes. 

“Something shiny to light up that pretty smile of yours,” he continued, thrusting a little harder just to see that beautiful expression on Anthony’s face again when he pushed just a little too deep. The demon could take it, that he was certain of. He hadn’t found anything the little harlot in the making couldn’t take. “Something that’s always part of you, to show everyone that you’re all mine. Would you like that?”

Anthony nodded excitedly, his eyes shining with need. 

“Perfect, but first… swallow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter's prompt will be "Date Night" and feature everyone's favourite TV demon! And a trip to the dentist.  
> As always kudos is a hug for our poor trapped little Angel Dust. I hate making him so oblivious, poor thing. Please review with any suggestions- I am always happy to hear ideas!


	4. Nantaimori

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anthony has a little trip to the dentist to lock him even further under Val's control and helps out at a little business meeting of Val's with a special friend.  
> Prompt: Date night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit of a slow burn, it's mainly setting the tone for the next chapter (which for once doesn't have a prompt, scary huh? I'm just free falling now) so please enjoy it for what I hope is its simplicity and world building. I feel like I should content warn for a scene in a dental office as it's not everyone's favourite place, rest assured nothing explicit happens and I cut away before any dental treatment happens so there's no description. I just had to work in his lovely gold tooth somehow!

Anthony couldn’t remember the last time he’d been to the dentist. All he could remember was the sickly sweet smell of cloves that seemed to fill the whole building and getting a lollipop on the way out if he sat still and behaved back when he was a kid. Once he’d been responsible for his own health, dental care hadn’t really been on his list of priorities, all that drilling and stabbing just felt unnecessary. And expensive. It turned out there was no shortage of dentists in Hell and there was, he discovered, a whole street dedicated to the practice. 

It reeked of clove oil. 

Trying to hold his breath against the stench he followed Val down the street, taking in the sight of all the slightly eerie scenes emblazoned with cartoon teeth grinning manically. He couldn’t tell if they were meant to be cute or to terrify people out of their wits. He was inclined to think it was the latter. Val seemed to know exactly where he was headed, though, and Anthony tore his eyes away from a particularly chipper looking molar waving from a window and followed him up to the door of one of the offices. 

They were greeted in the reception by a buxom red head in a tight white uniform. Her name tag read ‘Tiffany’ and her scaled skin glowed a candy floss shade of pink with strange fins jutting out at weird angles on her arms and neck. That wasn’t the weirdest part though, Anthony was used to the bizarre hybrid demons that graced the streets of Hell. What was really unsettling him were the fish hooks piercing each side of her face, drawing up her lips in a warped, permanent smile. 

“Welcome to the Cavity Cave, where every smile is perfect,” She spoke as if she had learned the lines by rote and was simply repeating a script, staring at them unblinking and holding out a clipboard for them to sign their name on. “Please take a seat.”

“Do I need to brush my teeth or anythin’ first?” Anthony asked, looking around for a bathroom. There only seemed to be one door in the room, the one they’d entered through from the street suddenly non-existent, having been replaced by a shiny, red door that simply read “The Dentist.” 

The receptionist, Tiffany, looked confused at being asked an actual direct question and tilted her head. “Welcome to the Cavity Cave, where every smile is perfect. Please take a seat,” she repeated. 

“Uh, right,” Anthony looked at Val for help who simply chuckled and put his arm around him, tossing the clipboard back onto the front desk and steering him towards a seat. The rest of the waiting room was empty, making them the only patients waiting in the stark room. Anthony shuffled in the chair, remembering all of a sudden why he’d hated dentists as a kid. Posters reminding him to brush twice a day and never, ever go near sugar bared down on him from every available space on the walls, oppressively pushing their message so that everywhere he looked he was reminded that Teeth Are Important. Some old jazz tune was playing over an old radio that sat in the corner, punctured every other line by screams and crying. 

“He’s such a show off,” Val muttered under his breath. 

“Who is?” 

“Hm? Oh, no one, babe. Just thinking out loud,” Val told him, patting his leg reassuringly. “You nervous?” 

“Nah, just tryin’ to remember every last time I had sugar in the last fortnight,” Anthony laughed dryly, still clutching Val’s hand out of pure instinct as the demon left it lingering on his thigh. 

“You’ll be fine, The Dentist is a nice guy, won’t hurt you or nothing.” 

The red door creaked open, a disembodied voice calling him through. He glanced back at Val who just grinned and waved him off, picking up a magazine from the pile next to him to pass the time. Anthony’s shoulders slumped and he made his way into the room, the clove scent mingling with a sharp disinfectant smell and something that Anthony couldn’t quite put his finger on as he got closer. Once he was inside the room he closed the door behind him and let his eyes adjust to the dim light, his fur bristling on instinct at being alone in such a weird environment. 

“Good Afternoon. Please take a seat.”

Anthony squinted and made his way forward, The Dentist coming into focus as he sat down on the chair. Huh, he’d been expecting some kind of toothy shark demon or a horror movie type zombie creature with rotting skin, not a jolly looking octopus creature. The demon raised several of his bright purple arms in greeting, picking up several instruments with his other appendages and wielding them in readiness. 

“You’re with Valentino,” The octopus commented, twirling one of the mirrors in his hand. “The usual, then? All out?”

“I- what?” Anthony was up and out of the chair faster than he’d ever moved in his entire life. “No! What the Hell?” 

“There, there, just a little dentist joke,” The octopus smiled, suddenly looking a lot less jolly as his eyes glinted an unnatural red. “Let’s get you all blinged up for your Daddy…” 

o0o

“Does it hurt?” Val asked as they got back to the apartment. He’d taken Anthony shopping, again, after the appointment to make up for the shock and had been surprised when the young demon had opted for sweets and chocolates over clothes. He set the colourful boxes of candy down on the kitchen worktop and reached out to ruffle his hair. The spider was sulking adorably, though that was probably because he was still half numb on one side of his face. 

“No, it’s just tingling a bit,” Anthony complained, rubbing his face. He went over to the big mirror that dominated one wall of the lounge area to contemplate his reflection. He grinned and turned his head this way and that, admiring the twinkle of gold on his canine tooth that made his smile look like a million dollars. It looked so gangster, he thought to himself, the type of thing he’d always thought looked incredibly cool on the men who’d frequented their place back when he was human to make deals with his father. He’d always hung around in the sitting room in the guise of ‘learning the family business’ but, really, he’d just liked looking at all the dangerous men in suits with golden smiles like sharks. 

“Well it looks badass,” Val complimented him, coming up behind him and planting a soft kiss on the back of his head, right over the pink heart that patterned into his hairline. “I think it’s cute we match, now every time you look in the mirror you can see a little bit of me smiling back at you.” 

“Mm, as if I didn’t spent enough time checkin’ myself out anyway,” Anthony purred. “Can we go out tonight? I wanna show off my pearly whites at the club.” 

“You just wanna get back up on that pole.” 

“Guilty.” Angel was so looking forward to starting his new job at the club, dancing and performing would be like a dream come true. Getting paid to look hot all night? Yes please. Val had promised that when he got better he could do even more shows so he was eager to get the practice in. The thought of being on all those posters throughout Pentagram City was spurring him on.

“I’d love to, but you know I gotta see my buddy tonight,” Val told him. “I got to organise a new shoot and everything and he likes to go through everything personally.” 

“So you’ll be gone the whole night?” Anthony pouted, throwing his best puppy dog eyes up at Val, knowing they’d work. They always worked, deep down he knew he had Val wrapped around his manicured finger. 

“Maaaaybe we could meet up here instead?” Val suggested, as if it was such a chore to change his mind this late in the game. “You wanna be my little hostess?” 

“Mmhm, just give me your order, baby.” 

Valentino glanced down at his watch. They had time. “Say, your mouth still numb?”

“Little bit.”

“Perfect.” 

o0o

Anthony had only heard about Vox from Valentino and a few of the girls from the club, so although he had never met the TV Demon he was at least a little bit prepared for the sight that greeted him at the door later that night. He still couldn’t help but stare a little as the demon walked into the apartment like he owned the place, ignoring the start of Anthony’s welcome and making a beeline for Val as if the moth was the only person in the room. 

“What’s up, pimp?” Vox clapped Val heartily on the shoulder and drew him into a tight hug, dropping a bag of take away food down onto the coffee table. 

“Nothing but the ceiling, baby,” Val responded, kissing the edge of his screen and causing a small burst of static to run across the glass like a firework. “You brought dinner?” 

“Figured we’d go on a lil trip to the orient,” Vox told him, finally looking over at Anthony finally and snapping his fingers at him. “Don’t just stand there, slut, put the food out. You dumb or something?” 

“I aint the help, static face,” Anthony hissed, folding his arms stubbornly over his stomach and jutting his hip out. He eyed the TV creature up and down, he didn’t look so tough so what was Val’s fascination with him? One good pop to the face and that screen would bust right up. Who did he think he was, talking to him like that? He bristled as a fake, TV audience type laugh track laced it’s self over Vox’s pounding laughter. 

“Damn, you sure know where to find them, Val,” Vox snickered. “Ok, kiddo, I get it.”

“Anthony is special,” Val supplied, making Anthony preen in delight and smile. “Baby, could you be a doll and set the food up for us whilst me and Vox talk? That’s my boy.” 

“Sure thing, Daddy,” Anthony smiled a sickly sweet smile at Vox as he went to pick up the take away back and lay out the trays of food on the table, almost as if to say _see? That’s how a gentleman asks._ He looked curiously at the boxes as he lay them out on the table, he’d never had sushi before. It all looked so colourful and weird, a little bit of him remembering the octopus creature in the Dentist office and fighting the urge to snicker. Once it was all laid out he looked at the pair expectantly, unsure if he was invited to join in or not. Val hadn’t really said if this was a group thing or if he just wanted to be alone with his friend, despite Anthony cajoling him into moving their meeting to here. 

“Sugar, why don’t you slip out of those clothes and come cuddle up over here?” Val suggested. “Me and Voxxy could use some inspiration.” 

_Oh, so it was that kind of meeting was it?_ Anthony smirked and nodded. He could play that game. Val wanted him to distract this guy so that he could get something over on him? That was definitely something he could do. He started to peel off the fishnet crop top he’d been wearing and dropped it to the floor, turning slowly so he could exaggeratedly bend over to slip his shorts down over his pert ass and make a real show of stepping out of them. His hands teasingly lingered at the edge of his panties and he quirked his eyebrow at Val, silently asking permission. The moth chuffed quietly and nodded for him to carry on, grinning hungrily as the spider let his panties drop to join the rest of his clothes. The knee high boots were all that were left now, but as he went to start to unzip them Val shook his head. 

“Leave those on, angel cake, come over here,” he instructed, patting his knee. 

Vox, who had been mostly quiet during Anthony’s little strip tease show, sighed boredly, leaning back on the sofa. “You know what I miss? Japan. All that buzzing technology, state of the art…” 

“Geishas,” Val agreed wistfully. 

“You’re so obvious,” Vox sighed, looking at the food. “But there’s an idea. Kid, you know what nantaimori is?”  
Anthony shook his head, curling up closer to Val now that he was comfortably sitting on him. It felt kind of liberating, just lounging around naked with the two men. He’d expected to feel shy, or at least a bit uncomfortable being the only one, but it felt pretty good and Val was obviously very happy at him being such a good sport. “I don’t speak Japanese,” he told him. 

“It’s when you use someone like yourself as a table for sushi,” Vox explained, an image briefly flashing up on his screen as he spoke. “It’s a little bit taboo nowadays but, hey, what’s the worst that could happen? We end up in Hell?” Anthony laughed easily with them, the idea of being furniture for his boyfriend and his guest was enticing to say the least. He moved everything off the table and lay down, his legs hanging off the edge as the coffee table was too short for him to lay down fully, and patiently held still as the demons arranged the food on his body. 

“Beautiful,” Val purred, snapping a picture on his phone. “See, I told you you’d be good inspiration,” he praised him, picking up a piece of the sushi with some chop sticks and humming in appreciation at the taste. Heaven might have all the touchy feely love and light, but you couldn’t beat Hell for a good meal. “You stay still now, baby, Vox and I got stuff to do.” 

o0o

“You really like this one, huh?” Vox commented a while later, idly sipping some sake and letting his electronic gaze drift over the now sleeping Anthony. Maybe the drug lacing the last drink of sake Val had kissed into the spider demon’s mouth had been a little cruel, but there was nothing like a little bit of privacy with his lover, and Val had been neglecting him so much in favour of this new eight legged freak. 

“Don’t be jealous, Voxxy,” Val smirked, tapping his glass against his taking a long drink. He was drinking a good, straight forward whisky on ice, the burn in his throat pleasantly refreshing after the good food. They’d completely cleared all the rolls and other treats from the demon laid out in front of them and Val had to congratulate his partner on such a good idea. They could definitely work with that in their next movie. He had some gorgeous little snake girls that would look great against the back drop of a quaint little tea house set up. Anthony had been a wonderful muse, no doubt, but he had much better ideas for what to do with him once he managed to entice him into doing movies. 

“I’m just saying you’re putting a lot of effort into some fluffy litte coke addict,” Vox shrugged. “When have you ever spent this much time with a sinner?” 

“Some people are worth the investment,” Val insisted. “You modern types don’t get it. You gotta have patience, put a frog in cold water and it don’t even notice you heating it up til it’s already cooked.”  
“You sound just like the Radio Demon,” Vox teased. 

“Oh, and you’d love that wouldn’t you?” 

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Vox smiled primly, a little cartoon of an angel praying lighting up his screen innocently before dissolving into a firey inferno. “I’m a saint.” 

“Just eliminate him already,” Val sighed. “Your crush is just sad.” 

“Now who needs patience? You boil your frogs your way, and I’ll boil mine my way.” 

“Whatever,” Val rolled his eyes and stood up. “Do you need a lift? I’ll pick you up tomorrow for the shoot and we can grab a drink after. I can bring sleeping beauty here along too if you want.” 

“You think you can sway him into doing porn just watching it filmed once? You’re so full of it.” 

“Voxxy, baby, you don’t know my Anthony. Trust me, he’ll not be able to say no.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently discovered Vox/Alastor is a pairing and I am kinda hooked so gave into temptation to feed that in there a little at the end. I think of Val and Vox as poly with each other as primaries and the understanding that they have secondary partners out there that they have an understanding over. Plus, it's Hell. I doubt anyone is 100% faithful down there! 
> 
> Maybe Alastor.


	5. Crossed wires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anthony finally caves and goes to Porn studios where, one way or another, a star will be born.  
> Prompt: Angst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reader discretion is advised with this chapter. The porn scene is not graphic as I think suggestion is more powerful, but you are advised to note the tags on the story before reading in regards to non-con.

Perhaps it was because it still felt like such a taboo thing to go and watch, or perhaps it was simply because it gave him a chance to see Val at work, but there was just something so wonderful about going to Porn Studios for Anthony. Not only did it seem to be one of the biggest buildings in the city after the Radio Tower and Lucifer’s castle but it was always absolutely bursting with colour and energy. Sequins, feathers, glitter…sex. It was everywhere and always seemed to be loud and busy. The club was still one of his favourite places to go for the music and the dancing, but there was still a strange sort of pull he felt to the studios every time Val suggested he go with him to watch. 

Val had been right about Anthony being unable to keep away, but had been wrong about how easy it would be to get the spider to participate. The shoot after his date with Vox had been weeks ago and he’d been laying the breadcrumbs for Anthony ever since. The demon was, well, a demon on the pole for want of a more appropriate phrase and was starting to be a real draw in the club when he performed. He didn’t know if Anthony had been that limber and flexible in his mortal life or if it was a pleasant side effect of his new anatomy but what he did know was that in the few weeks he had been performing he was damn near as good as, if not better than, the employees who had been dancing for him for years. He had a way of feeling the music and expressing himself to it that couldn’t be taught, it was like a natural buzz to the beat of the music playing. Val regularly thanked whatever powers that be that his little spider had fallen into his lap instead of climbing up to the clouds. 

The little spider was currently draped across the sofa opposite him, stocking clad feet waving lazily in the air as he watched the show unfold in front of them. Val realised he might have been barking up the wrong tree showing Anthony all the flowery, touchy feely stuff with the girls and wondered seeing a bit of rough and tumble with the boys might tickle his fancy for the business a little more. Dia and Summer were hot stuff if you were into that, yet for all his sexual enthusiasm Anthony did seem firmly in favour of all things male. He tossed him over a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and shielded his eyes as the lights brightened on the set, illuminating the scene in front of the cameras. 

Three leather clad demons writhed on the bed together, all claws and teeth as they wrestled hard. Val didn’t believe in scripts, rather he decided just to tell his actors what the vague premise he had in mind was and let them loose. Sometimes he told all of them if he was feeling benevolent, other times he let the realism take over. A small grin tugged at his lips as two of the demons pinned down the third, hungry growls slipping from their throats as they dominated their prey. The supposed victim didn’t seem to mind that much and Val noticed out of the corner of his eye that Anthony had perked up a little at the sight of it. The cigarette he’d just lit was held loosely between his fingers, completely forgotten at the show unfolding in front of him. 

“Wow… that’s just… wow.” He took a drag on the cigarette and inched to the edge of the sofa. Val recognised that same, thirsty curiosity that had been on his face when he’d first seen the pole dancing in the club and casually moved to join him. He ran his finger down his back, massaging at the join where his second shoulders met his waist and pulled him close. 

“Wanna play?” He whispered. 

Anthony swallowed thickly, shaking his head but with very little conviction. “I don’t know,” he admitted, feeling himself harden under his skirt and subconsciously starting to rub against Val behind him. He arched his back as Val slipped his hand around his waist and snaked downwards. 

“This says otherwise,” he purred, biting his earlobe playfully which caused Anthony to jerk forward in surprise. “Think about it, baby. All those eyes on you, people watching you over and over. You think the club is a rush? Think how great knowing every citizen in Hell can watch that pretty little body as much as they want to, wherever they want to.” 

Anthony shuddered in his grasp, biting his lip to try and keep quiet, palming his hand over Val’s to slow the teasing. 

“I’ll think about it,” he whispered. “Now… let me watch.” 

o0o

He’d always been a terrible sucker for praise, he knew that, be it his brother telling him he was a good kid or his dad telling him he’d done a good job he was weak for someone saying he was good at something. He wondered sometimes if being aware of flaws like that ever made any difference to it all or if it just meant you slapped yourself for it afterwards when you realised. Either way, he knew Val telling him how hot he’d be on camera and coaxing him to take more pictures was all a way of getting him to say yes to it. He was in love, he wasn’t stupid. 

Well, maybe a little stupid, he laughed to himself. He was standing outside Porn Studios, unable to believe he’d really said yes to all this. It all still seemed like some dream world with no consequences. More than once he’d laughed at himself over the notion that the needle all those months ago hadn’t really finished him off and this was all just some coma dream coming from a bed in the hospital. If it was a coma dream then where was the harm in having a little fun with it, he reasoned to himself, not really believing it for a second. He sure wasn’t smart enough to imagine all this, drug induced coma or not. For starters, never in a million years would he ever have imagined himself up a boyfriend as perfect as Valentino. He didn’t even know guys that sweet existed until now. 

He touched the little pendant on his necklace for luck and pushed the door open. He’d been a bit nervous that morning so Val had given him something to help him chill out a little beforehand. All the big stars did it, he told him, it was normal to feel a little weird around strangers you were about to fuck on camera, after all. The buzz was still lingering in the back of his mind as he walked down the grimy corridor. Apparently they didn’t go much for décor away from the sets, he mused as he took in the peeling wallpaper and the out of date adverts pinned to the notice boards. He found the set easily enough- just look for the brightest lit place in the whole building, Val had told him- and pushed on that confident mask that had gotten him through so many deals when he’d been alive. 

“Hi, I’m Anthony,” he said to the demon who looked to be in charge of it all. He was an impressive height, easily towering over most of the demons and imps in the room. His body was slender as a rake, luscious dark skin and eyes that shone like chips of gold. It was like looking at some kind of Greek God like figure, the only thing marking him as even slightly demonic being the sharp fangs that littered his mouth like a thousand thin needles. 

“Oh, you’re Val’s little angel aren’t you?” The demon grinned, all ivory teeth, gleaming and sharp. “I’m Asmodeus,” he introduced, holding his hand out which Anthony took politely and shook. “We’re a nice, laid back set, perfect for first timers. You’ll just love it here.” 

“That’s what I hope,” Anthony told him, starting to slip off his coat but stopped by Asmodeus placing his hand over his and looking deep into his eyes. He felt a shudder pass through his body at the contact, his cheeks flushing at the sudden rush of sensation that made his fur prickle.

“Sorry, bad habit,” Asmodeus grinned. “Val likes me to loosen people up. Keep your coat on, just go sit on the bed over there. We’ll do a few test shots and see how you feel, take it nice and slow.” 

Anthony nodded and did as he was told, going over to perch on the oversized bed surrounded by lights and what he could only assume were various cameras. The three demons he’d been quite frankly drooling over at the set all those weeks ago were already lounging on the sheets, resplendent in outfits of tight leather with an unfathomable amount of buckles and zippers decorating the matte fabric. Anthony felt a thrill run through him at the thought of running his hands over all that and wished the blush would leave his cheeks. He was supposed to be a professional, dammit! Running his fingers through his hair he looked over at Asmodeus standing next to the camera, a red light blinking on it all ready. 

“Are you filming?” He asked, laughing nervously. “Sorry I don’t look very sexy!” 

“Oh, I think you look good enough to eat,” one of the demons purred, taking hold of his lower wrists from behind and pulling them tight. A dry, rough tongue like sand paper licked along his neck, causing him to tense up and falter. This was taking it nice and slow? Instinctively he pulled against the hold on his wrists, reaching back with his upper arms only to have the second of the trio seize hold of those and pin them roughly by his side. 

“Calm down, incy wincy spider,” he drawled. “We’re just getting cozy.” 

“I… I don’t…” Anthony stammered, looking back at the camera man in concern and struggling in the hold. “Red?” he tried quietly. 

“My favourite colour,” the final demon cooed, reaching out to stroke his face and gripping his chin to turn his face to look at him. “Deep breath, new boy. This’ll be a good time if you just play along.” 

Anthony jerked his chin away and jerked at the hands holding him, sweat starting to form in the worried creases of the frown lacing his features. “I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to-“ 

The punch caught him square in the jaw, sending him falling into the demon gripping him from behind. His vision swam, the figures around him a blur of black and a deep, smokey red. He felt blood pooling in his mouth and spat pitifully, sending it running down his chin. 

“Val… help…” 

o0o

“Ok, that’s a wrap! Great work guys.” 

Anthony blinked and rolled onto his side, wincing at the sharp sting to his ribs. He clutched himself limply and groaned, everything felt like it was on fire. Shakily pulling himself into a sitting position he rubbed his eyes and looked around. One of the demons clapped him on the shoulder, causing him to recoil back against the pillows, clutching his arm where the demon’s hand had landed. 

“You did great kiddo. Loved the screaming, we should do it again sometime,” the demon grinned, showing off rows of gleaming teeth stained with red. He threw him a thumbs up and winked. “Drink lotsa fluids, k? See you around.” 

Everyone was moving around as if nothing had happened, talking numbers, reviewing footage. Nobody gave Anthony a second glance as he sat on the bed, looking bewildered and trying to stop the tears running down his face. What had happened? What even was all that? He tried to put his legs down on the floor next to the bed but stumbled when he tried to stand up, catching the headboard for support. He sucked in a deep breath to steady himself. Something had gone wrong, that must be it. Val wouldn’t have sent him to something like that… wires must have been crossed and he’d been signed up for the wrong scene or… or something. He clenched his fists and rubbed at his eyes, knuckling away the tears and locking everything away. 

Val would make it all right. He’d make those fuckers pay for what they did. He knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Val will make it all ok.... right?  
> Two more chapters to go, everybody! The roller coaster is nearly over.


	6. Deal with the devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anthony gets back from the studio and into the comforting arms of his lover, who, of course, only wants to make him feel better.   
> Prompt: Morning After.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we go guys! Saddle up for a nice bit of whump and "I hate to say I told you so..."

Everything was a blur as he half ran, half stumbled through the streets of Pentagram City. He was dimly aware that he’d left his coat somewhere, on the floor, or the bed, and the chill started to set in a few blocks away from the studios. He wrapped his arms tightly around himself as he made his way through the dark, empty streets, wincing at the sting of his fingers brushing against fresh bruises that were already starting to glisten purple under his sweat soaked fur. His mind raced with questions, thoughts fighting for dominance in his head as he finally got to the door of the building where the apartment was. He made to take out the keys and let out a choked sob when he realised they were in his coat pocket back at the studio. He thumped his first pitifully against the door and reached out for the call button to the apartment, his fingers shaking as he tried and failed to key in the number several times before getting it right. 

“Yeah?” Val’s voice crackled over the speakers and Anthony felt his heart swell at the sound of it. He was cold and scared, but the sound of his lover’s voice made the world a little bit brighter. 

“Val, it’s me, I lost my keys,” Anthony stammered, trying to bite back the tremor in his voice. He sighed in relief at the sound of the latch dropping on the other side and gratefully pushed the door open. The ride in the lift to their floor felt like it was taking eternity and he had never been so relieved to see the door to his apartment. It was already unlocked when he got there, allowing him to throw himself through the door and into Valentino’s arms without a moment’s hesitation. 

Everything he had been trying unsuccessfully to bottle up on the way over burst out of him as he felt the soft velvet of Val’s coat against his cheek, breathing in that reassuring scent and going limp in his arms. 

“What’s wrong, angel cake?” Val asked, running his fingers through his white locks then tilting his head back so he could look down at him. 

“Everything!” Anthony sobbed, burrowing his face back into Val’s chest and trying to hide from the world. His hands found their way into his coat, gripping fistfuls of the fabric and pulling him close as if he could disappear if he tried hard enough. “I-I don’t know what to do.” 

“About what?” Val gently eased him away from his body, as much as he was enjoying the heat of the young demon pressing against him he needed to be able to actually look at him and calm him down if he was going to get close to getting any sense out of him. 

“At the studio, I-“ Anthony messily wiped his arm across his face and sniffled noisily. He pulled back and blinked rapidly to try and flush away the tears, mascara already making head way down his white cheeks. “It all happened so fast, and-“ something caught his eye over Val’s shoulder and he wiped his eyes again to try and make himself focus. “What’s that?” 

“That? The studio sent it over,” Val shrugged, looking over his shoulder at the video playing on the huge TV screen behind them. “It’s just a rough cut but it’s still pretty impressive.” His fingers dropped their grip on his hair as Anthony pulled himself out of his grasp and pushed past him, staring at the scene playing out on the screen in muted horror. Val straightened his jacket, taking the opportunity to sit back down on the couch where he had been before Anthony had interrupted his viewings by bursting back in here. He languidly stretched his arms out, resting them on the back of the couch with a lazy smile on his face. “What? You don’t like it?” 

“It’s horrible,” Anthony choked out, tearing his gaze away from the screen and spinning on his heel to face Val. “Turn it off!” 

“I haven’t finished yet, Sweet cheeks,” Val told him, the remote resting untouched on the cushions with him making no movie to pick it up. “I have to review everything for the studio. I don’t want something rubbish going out with my name on, after all, it’s bad for business.” He leant forward a little on the sofa, studying the movie as it all played out with the demons veritably tearing into the demon in front of him. “The Italian was a nice little touch. You always do that when you’re horny? I don’t think you’ve ever done that for me.” 

“ _Va fan culo!_ ” Anthony spat. Why wasn’t Val taking this seriously? Did he not understand? Did he think it was all an act or something? He felt anger rising in his chest, not something he’d genuinely experienced since coming down here. Annoyance, yes, sure, when his coffee order was late or some make-up he wanted was out of stock, but actual, real anger was something he had thought he was free from. There hadn’t been anything down here to be angry about, Val had taken care of all that. 

“Yeah, that’s it,” Val purred. “Come here and sit on Daddy’s knee. We can finish watching this together and you can _parli_ some more of that _Italiano_ for me.”

“Val! I’m serious.” His fists clenched at his side as he willed himself not to just lash out and smash the screen behind him. He lunged forward to grab the remote from where it lay next to Val, stopped only by the moth demon catching his wrist in his before he had the chance to wrap his fingers around it. 

“So am I. I want to watch,” Val hissed. “I think we’ll call this one _‘Anthony’s Maiden Voyage’_ what do you think? Got a good ring to it, seduction of the innocent and all that.” Red vapour curled around the corners of his lips as he spoke, making Anthony feel that familiar sensation of relaxation threaten the edges of his mind as he started to go limp in his hold. Fuelled by the anger boiling over inside him, Anthony ripped his hand out of Val’s grip and shook his head. 

“You knew,” he hissed accusingly. “You knew what would happen if I went down there and you still let me!” 

“Of course I did,” Val told him, finally picking up the remote and hitting pause. The image of Anthony, spread out on the studio’s bed with the three demons on top of him froze on the screen. “This is Hell, baby, you think demons here get off on rose petals and soft lighting? Angel, you have a lot to learn.” 

“I think I’m learning pretty fast, thanks,” Anthony spat, folding his arms and turning to walk away. He didn’t have his coat, still, but he’d chance it outside rather than stay here a minute longer. “Fuck this, I’m out of here.” 

“Sure, sure,” Val gestured to the door. “You go and cool down, that might be a good idea.” 

Anthony hadn’t even put his hand on the door handle when Val spoke again, the temperature in the room dropping several degrees when he did. 

“We can talk tomorrow about you paying back all the money you owe me.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Anthony turned around, wanting to laugh at the absurdity of the comment but feeling the sound die in his throat at the expression on Val’s face. He’d seen his boyfriend happy before, but he had never seen the moth look so maliciously gleeful as he did right now. 

“The money. That you owe me,” Val repeated, snapping his fingers. In a plume of red smoke a stack of paper appeared in his hands, which he casually started to leaf through on the sofa just as he had done back at the club with work contracts so many times in front of Anthony. “I mean, there’s rent on this place to start with. What is it now, five months? Penthouses in Pentagram City don’t come cheap, baby doll. Then there’s all your pretty little clothes, the shoes, the make-up, all those sweet little treats you like, the sex toys, oh, and those iced coffees that you slurp down like they’re going out of fashion.” As he listed the items he dropped sheets of paper onto the table one by one, the numbers and figures unmistakable as Anthony’s eyes skimmed over them. 

How could he have been so _stupid?_

His whole body felt like it was shaking and he was sure he was about to throw up if he didn’t steady himself soon enough. Stumbling, he ran to the kitchenette off the edge of the lounge and grabbed a glass from the side, glugging down water as he head Valentino laughing softly from his throne like place in the lounge. He gripped the edges of the sink and took a deep breath. This was bad, this was so very, very bad. He couldn’t think of a more eloquent way to put it and with a bitter little chuckle to himself he wondered what on earth his Pops would be thinking right now if he could see him. Hadn’t he told him all the time that nothing in life was free and that if you didn’t con people fast they’d con you first? Well, he hoped dear old Dad was proud of him now. 

Gripping the now empty glass in his hand he went back to the lounge, trying to muster up more dignity than he felt which was no mean feat considering he was still shaking like a leaf and had the remains of his make-up still streaked down his face. 

“You tricked me,” He said steadily. 

“Nope,” Val shook his head, carefully organising the paperwork once more back into its neat little pile. A pen seemed to have appeared out of nowhere as well which the overlord was currently twirling around his fingers. “Did I ever once lie to you? Or force you to do something you didn’t want to?”

“You-“

“You made your choices,” Val cut him off, gesturing with the pen. “Did I tell you to get on that pole? Did I tell you to spend all that money on clothes? Nope. Did I tell you to get on camera and whore yourself out like a slut? You made all those choices yourself, sweetie pie.” 

“That isn’t fair!” The fire rose inside him once more and he hurled the glass at Val. It shattered against the wall, inches from his head and pouring shards of glass onto the couch and Val’s shoulder, which he casually brushed aside. Anthony gasped as Val shot across the room in the blink of an eye, gripping his throat and pressing him against the wall. 

“Less of the attitude, Angel,” He hissed, running his tongue along his cheek and resting at the spot just next to his ear which he knew, God damn him, made him squirm. “I don’t like you when you’re like this, and all things considered you should be working very hard now to keep me happy. Interest on debt can be a real bitch, if you catch my drift.” 

He loosened his hold a fraction, watching with ill-concealed hunger as Anthony tried to snake out of his grasp at the slight feeling of respite. He enjoyed his wriggling for a few more seconds before benevolently letting go and allowing him to drop to the floor on his knees, gasping in air and clutching his throat. The spider demon coughed hoarsely and looked up at him, looking as if he was about to stand up but thinking better of it. 

“Good boy,” Val purred, sauntering over to the table where the stack of papers lie and picking them up. The pen was still in his other hand so he held it out now to Anthony, who took it with a suspicious look on his face. “Two choices, cutie. You sign this and agree to work for me indefinitely until you pay me back every cent you owe me, plus interest, or-“ Anthony began to shake his head and he held his finger up to silence him. “-you might want to reconsider that no until you’ve heard option two. Option two, I throw you out of here and give you 28 days to pay me back in full or else I come and get you and we work out another way you can pay me back. It’s a lot of zeros, kid, that’s a lot of dick in not much time. Unless you have some other talents for making money that you’re just very good at hiding.” 

“I hate you,” Anthony hissed, practically tearing the lid off the pen. Val was right, it _was_ a lot of money. Who’d have thought he’d get trapped in something as trivial as financial debt in Hell? He almost groaned at the thought as he quite literally signed his life away on the dotted line. He knew he should feel something, some kind of spark or a vice like grip on his heart, that’s what all the literature said a deal with the devil felt like, but all he felt was empty. He’d _loved_ him. Val had loved him back, he’d been so sure of it. 

“Don’t look so upset, Anthony,” Val purred, magicking away the contract with a click of his fingers as smoothly as he had made it appear. “What’s the old saying? You’ve made your bed… now you’ve got to fuck in it. See you at work. Take the day off to recover, if you like, but remember, time is money and you don’t have much of that to spare. How about a kiss before I go?” He was met with a stony glare from Anthony and laughed. “Didn’t think so. I’ll see myself out.”

He made his way to the door and paused to turn back before leaving. “Oh, and Anthony? Clean yourself up, you look like shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! This is the end. BUT WAIT! Don't go just yet. It's not the final chapter! There will be an epilogue to bring us up to almost-but-not-quite canon timeline, perhaps a month or two before the pilot is set. 
> 
> As always, please review and tell me your thoughts and feelings.


	7. Time flies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anthony, now Angel Dust, has made a name for himself in Hell as one of the biggest names in porn, but will he ever find his guardian angel?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go! The promised epilogue. The prompt for this is a spoiler so I'll let you all know at the end. When I started to write this as a full story I always wanted something at the end to tie it into the present (ish) timeline so here we go. 
> 
> This is pre-pilot and set before the Dirty Healings comic. Note, even though Angel is now Angel Dust in this I've kept the narrative as Anthony for continuity and to show that, really, Angel Dust is the mask and Anthony is who he really is.

He’d stayed sitting on the floor for Hell knew how long, the low buzz from the TV the only sound echoing in the vast empty space as he tried to piece together what was happening. He remembered getting up at some point, hours after the sounds from the video had died down and pouring himself a drink. Then another and another until he couldn’t even hear his own thoughts rattling around in his head. Eventually the bottle ran out so he dragged himself to the bedroom and started emptying out the drawers, making a cocktail of whatever he could find laying around. Val had always been good for that, making pills and powders appear like candy from a well-meaning parent’s seemingly never ending supply. Most of them probably shouldn’t have been mixed together but what was the worst that could happen? He died again? He should be so lucky. 

When those ran out he just went outside with the cash he had on hand and bought some more. Dealers were on practically every corner in Hell and even as zonked out of his mind as he was there was someone selling. 

Days turned into weeks and, somehow, the supply never ran out even when the weeks became months and the months became a long, dreary timeline of years. 

He took a long drag on the cigarette, leaning back in the chair and letting his eyes drift over the scene on the screen in front of him with little interest. Porn lost its sparkle after the 100th time you’d done it all and he didn’t even know why he bothered watching these reels anymore. A small part of him that still had some pride in himself wanted to know what was going out into the world with his name on was at least good, the part that wasn’t permanently high, that is. 

“Hey, Angel Dust, I just wanted to say it was really cool working with you today.” 

He looked up from the screen, his eyes meeting those of the bright eyed and bushy tailed demon he had been ploughing into not half an hour ago. Literally bushy tailed, by the way, he was a squirrel demon. The teeth had certainly been interesting.

“Yeah? That’s nice.” Anthony broke eye contact and turned back to the laptop, clicking the window closed and folding it shut. He’d seen enough, the video was hot and would make money, that was all that mattered. Another drop in the never ending ocean of debt he still owed Valentino even after all these movies. 

“It’s just, working with _the_ Angel Dust is like a dream come true,” the squirrel was gushing. 

The stage name had come about on a bender shortly after Val had left. He had gone back to the same joint for PCP so many times in one night that the dealer had joked that he might as well start calling himself Angel Dust with how much he was taking. It had a nice ring to it, and anything that took hits away from _’Anthony’s Maiden Voyage’_ was worth it. The studio seemed to like it and soon enough doing a search for ‘Angel Dust’ began to bring the citizens of Hell hundreds of pornographic video hits rather than information on drugs. That was the game, really, flood the market with that so no one ever manged to connect him with the scared little spider who didn’t know what he was doing all those decades ago. 

“Yeah, I’m a legend alright,” he drawled, stubbing out the cigarette. “That’ll sure be something to tell the grandkids.” 

"Totally! I wondered if I could…“ the squirrel excitedly held up a note pad and pen, pushing them under Anthony’s face as he stood up and tried to navigate his way around him. He quirked his eyebrow questioningly, scoffing at the idea that someone wanted his goddam autograph of all things. 

“Sorry, fluffy nuts, I don’t sign shit,” he told him, easing past him and knocking the note pad out of his paws with one of his lower arms. “Just enjoy the memories.” He pulled another cigarette out of his jacket pocket and lit up. He tried to ignore how crushed the younger demon looked and carried on. You didn’t get anywhere in life being soft on people just because they looked pathetic, he told himself. The bushy tailed little freak would probably just stick it on Voxbay and try to sell it for a few bucks, anyway. 

Once he was in the relative safety of his dressing room he allowed himself to relax and sank down on the sofa, swinging his legs up over the arm rest and closing his eyes. The cigarette was killing the buzz from what he’d taken to keep him riled up during the shoot and he enjoyed the small lapse that made him feel pleasantly sleepy. He wasn’t going to let himself sleep, though. Sleeping meant waking up and waking up meant hangovers and come downs. It was far safer to just stay up as long as possible and keep the buzz going indefinitely.

Still, it was nice to just rest his eyes. That was all he was doing. 

o0o 

“Catching 40, Angel cakes?” 

His eyes snapped open at the sound of the voice in the room, instantly tense and bolting upright on the sofa. He rubbed his face and glanced at the clock, shit, he must have fallen asleep after all. The cigarette was laying discarded on the floor, mercifully it hadn’t set the cheap carpet on fire and simply lay smouldering still on the hot pink flooring. 

“What do you want, Val?” He asked, digging around in his jacket for the packet but coming up short. Just as he’d suspected a raging headache was threatening to form and he needed something to stop it in its tracks. 

“Just checking in on my favourite demon,” Val purred, taking a fresh packet out of his coat and offering it to Angel. He laughed at the sceptical expression on the spider’s face and pulled one out, slipping it between his lips and lighting up. “Nothing more sinister than tobacco, babe,” he told him, taking a long drag. 

“Whatever,” Anthony groaned, standing up so he could make some distance between them by moving from the sofa to the dressing table. There was only one seat there so there was no way Val could try and cosy up to him like he normally tried to do when he came into the dressing room. It was never just to check up on him. It was always to either give him more work to do or to remind him just how stuck he was. Usually both, as the two things often seemed to go hand in hand. 

Trying his best to ignore the moth demon he studied his reflection in the mirror and started to touch up the make up that had gotten smudged during his nap. He wasn’t planning on going anywhere, but as Val always said, you had to put on your best face if you were going outside. He wouldn’t be caught dead leaving the studio looking less than perfect and Hell forbid he’d step out with smeared eye liner. Selecting a brush from a cup on his dresser shaped like a cartoon pig he started to neaten up the sharp lines around his eyes. 

“Got a job for you, sugar, if you’re interested,” Val commented, oblivious to the energy in the room as he made himself comfortable on the couch. He stretched his long legs out on the cushions, letting his coat slide down to show a flash of fishnet as he adjusted himself. A small smirk graced his lips as he saw Anthony staring slightly open mouthed through the mirror. “Or are you interested in something… else?” he purred. 

“Are you still here?” Anthony asked, tearing his gaze away and back to focusing on more important things, like his makeup, instead. “I’m more beat than a teen’s sock drawer, I’m going home as soon as I can.” 

“Sure, your loss,” Val shrugged, flicking some of the ash from his cigarette onto the carpet and twirling the smoke around his fingers, letting it linger and curl around him as it turned red and gradually snaked its way towards Anthony. The spider demon flinched as it slid along his neck, causing him to jerk and mess up the careful cat’s eye he was trying to line his eye with. 

“Look what ya made me do!” He snapped, waving the smoke away. “Now I gotta start over!” 

He reached out for the bottle of remover, wincing when Val seemed to shoot out of nowhere and pick it up first. 

“Here, let me,” Val clutched the bottle in one hand and picked up some cotton pads from the dresser, tipping out some of the aloe scented liquid. “Close your eyes.” 

“I can do it myself-“ 

“Close. Your. Eyes.” 

Anthony sighed in defeat and complied, closing his eyes as instructed and letting his hands fall to his lap. “Yes, Mista Valentino.” 

“Good boy,” Val started to wipe away the makeup, wiping around his eyes with surprising tenderness. Anthony stayed tense under his ministrations, however, clasping and unclasping his hands where they rested, his heart thumping in his chest. This close he could smell the smoke from the still burning cigarette drifting from Val’s other hand, heavy and musky, coming towards him in waves. Val didn’t stop at his eyes, moving onto his cheeks and the rest of his face, removing the thin veil of powder Anthony usually wore to make his fur sparkle along with the blush to highlight his cheekbones. His fingers lingered over his lips, wiping away the pearlescent gloss and lingering for a brief second or two before he moved away. 

“There, all done,” he told him, dropping the used pad into the waste basket next to the dresser and grinning. “You look cute. I never see you with your morning face anymore.” 

“Yeah, cos aint nobody paying to see this pasty shit,” Angel rolled his eyes, trying to steady his rapidly beating heart as he inched the chair back a little so he could turn and face the mirror once more. He started to draw around his eyes again and glanced sideways at Val whilst he worked. The moth was still standing there and showing no signs of leaving. “Go on then, what’s this job?” He asked with a sigh. 

“Just dinner with a client,” Val told him. “You just need to sit there and look pretty.” 

“How much?” 

“My never ending gratitude.” 

“Funny guy. You should quit the biz and do stand up,” Angel drawled. 

“200. If you play nice, that is.” 

Angel started on his cheeks with a chunkier brush and didn’t reply. He knew what ‘play nice’ meant in Val’s language. He’d played nice with more of his boss’s so-called clients more times than he could count and he was damned if the goal posts didn’t keep moving on what ‘nice’ was supposed to be. The clients never complained but Val always seemed to find a reason why he could never give him as much as what he’d promised. Usually he came up with some lame excuse that it was to cover extra drinks Anthony had during the meal, or covering the cost of the ride back to the client’s house. Always something that meant he never got what he was really owed. 

“Think about it,” Val dropped the spent cigarette into the basket and stroked his cheek where he had just blended a line of blush. “You’re right, you do look pasty. Fix that before you go out, everywhere you go you’re representing the studio.” 

“Don’t I know it,” Anthony muttered. 

“Less attitude, babe,” Val chided, pinching his cheek and finishing with a harder than necessary pat. “Text me before 8. The longer you take to decide, the less money it is.” 

“Yes, Mista Valentino.” 

“Good boy.” 

o0o

Anthony let out the breath he’d been holding as Val left, fighting to keep his hand steady as he finished off his face. Setting down the brush on the polished wood of the dresser he studied his reflection. Good enough, he told himself. He had some better stuff at home that he could spice it up with to go back out again with Val later. As much as the moth had pitched it as his decision he knew he didn’t have a choice. He didn’t have to look in his wallet to know it was empty and he wouldn’t see any money from the shoot today until at least next week once the pay per views started to roll in so, as much as he was loathed to admit it, he needed the cash badly. 

He straightened up his jacket as he stood up, giving himself a twirl to check himself out in the mirror before heading out of the stage door. It was bitterly cold outside and he popped his collar up to protect himself from the wind, keeping his eyes up and sashaying down the street with a ‘don’t fuck with me’ swagger to his hips. Just like in the studio the rules were the same out on the streets of Hell- look like a victim, get treated like one. He blew kisses at the various freaks and weirdos on the streets that hollered out to him, ignoring them mostly but giving them just enough of a response that no one took it upon themselves to try and follow him. Once or twice, in the early days when he’d been fresh with panic over the money he’d owed Val, he’d considered taking a John or two home with him to earn some extra but had quickly dismissed the idea. He might be a paid whore, but he had standards, he told himself. He would have to have gotten pretty desperate to start servicing randos in the street. 

His apartment beckoned and a large clock face on the radio tower in the distance told him he had a few hours to kick back before he texted Val that he was accepting. It was a small thing, but leaving it as long as possible to accept always made him feel like he at least had a little bit of control over it all. 

“Keep away! Keep away! Piggy in the middle!” 

The sound of yelling and gleeful cackles echoed down the end of one of the alleyways and Anthony just kept on walking. Some poor sap was probably getting mugged, he told himself. _Better him than me._

“Here, piggy piggy piggy!” 

The sound of a loud squeal stopped him in his tracks and he found himself turning slowly on his heel, pressing himself against the wall and tilting his head to listen. The laughter howled over the squeals, mixed with the sounds of scuffles and something heavy hitting what sounded like a trash can. Whatever was making the squealing noise quietened down to a pathetic little whimper, followed by some snuffling that made Anthony’s heart catch in his chest. Stealing a glance around the corner he took in the sight in front of him. Five demons, all in letterman jackets for the local Hell school but looking way too old to still be clinging to their glory days were crowded around something small and pink on the floor. 

It was a small pig. 

Anthony flinched as one of the demon’s feet connected with the creature again. It was one thing picking on demons, it was Hell most of them deserved it, but this was an innocent little pig for fuck’s sake. 

“Hey, losers. Back off.” He stepped into the dim light of the alley with his arms folded over his chest. “Come pick on someone your own size.” 

“Fuck off, whore, we’re just playing around.” 

Anthony thought he recognised something in the demon who was speaking, sea green scales and greasy hair slicked back from his glistening skin. Probably just someone he’d fucked at the studio. All the faces blurred into one after a while. “The fuck you were, asshole. Go home to your Ma, don’t you have a football game to jack off over?” 

“ _Excuse_ me, don’t you know who I am?” The scaled demon scoffed. “I’m S-“

Anthony cut him off with a gun drawn from the inside of his jacket. “I don’t give two shits who you are, buddy. Leave the pig alone.” 

“Come on, Sev, it aint worth it,” One of the demons, clearly the one who was using the group brain today, nudged him in the side and nodded for them to leave. 

“Listen to your boyfriend,” Anthony advised him, clicking the safety off his gun. Man, it felt good to be going this again. It had been far too long since he’d been to a good gun fight. “This little piggy is under my protection.” 

“I know you,” Another demon piped up. “You’re Angel Dust. You’re the porn star.” A small bubble of laughter erupted from the group, suddenly relaxed despite a gun trained on their leader. “You aint gonna do shit. My father knows your boss. You wouldn’t dare.” 

Anthony emptied the chamber of the gun. 

“Babe, don’t make a dare you’re not prepared to see followed through,” the spider grinned, blowing the smoke from the barrel and holstering the now empty gun before pulling out a second. Always bring a spare; that was the golden rule. “Now, what did I just say about going home to your Mamas and Papas? Tell ‘em I said hi.” 

He didn’t get to see the reaction as all five were already clambering over each other to escape from the confines of the alleyway. The freshly drawn gun was placed safely back into the other concealed holster under his jacket and he watched the retreating backs of the high school hazbins as they ran down the street. That had been a pleasant, if not unexpected, turn of events he mused, setting off to leave as well when he felt something nudging at his ankle. He looked down at the small pig and smiled softly. 

“Hey, buddy,” he cooed, crouching down to gently stroke its head. The poor thing was shivering and on instinct Anthony found himself crouching down to pick it up. Almost immediately the pig started to snuffle into the fur of his chest, burrowing for warmth and causing the demon to chuckle affectionately. “Whoa, cutie, I charge extra for that,” he joked, scratching it behind the ears and causing it to let out a little snort of contentment. 

“You’re a chunky lil nugget aren’t you?” He commented. “You gots anywhere to go?” He knew there was no way the pig was going to reply to him, but he would have sworn blind that it gave a small shake of its horned head at the question. “No? Well…” He glanced around the alleyway. No one was around, and there was no sign of where the pig had even come from. He looked back down at the animal, its big black eyes staring back up at him. This was crazy, he couldn’t even afford to look after himself, never mind a pet. It would need a bath, for starters, then some food and he’d have to get it a bed and a leash, and some toys. What did pigs even eat? 

By the time he’d finished rattling all these questions off in his mind he discovered he was already half way home and that the pig had fallen asleep in his arms. His heart melted at the adorable sight, little snores coming from the pig at it wriggled every so often in whatever dream it was enjoying. Anthony slowed his pace so that he wouldn’t wake him, and when he got back to the apartment he crept up the stairs as quiet as a church mouse. 

“Well, this is home, little nugget,” he told him, gently setting the pig down on his bed. The apartment was small and cheap, the first thing he’d been able to find when he’d left the cash drain of an apartment he’d been living in with Val when they’d first met. It was grimy and right on the edge of the city, but it was his. The pig woke up at the sound of his voice and scooted over to him, resting his front trotters on his lap and nudging at him with his head. 

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll find you some food soon,” Anthony reassured him, taking his phone out of his pocket and bringing up a message thread with Val. 

_Sorry, Daddy, can’t make tonight. Something came up. I’ll do a double tomorrow. Angie xxx_

He switched the phone to silent and laid it on the edge of the bed, stroking the pig’s ears as it looked up at its saviour, its guardian angel, with complete adoration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go!  
> The prompt was, of course, Fat Nuggets. Looks like there are angels in Hell. Told you all there'd be a tiny bit of hope in the end! 
> 
> Thank you all for sticking with me though all this and indulging my angst. This is actually the first fanfiction I've ever completed and the reviews and the kudos really made me want to carry on- please, if you're joining the party late leave me a review, no matter how long after publishing it's still always lovely to hear what people think. I have a few more planned, a radio dust one shot and something about Alastor so, as our resident Radio Demon says, "Stay Tuned."


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